Politics
Senate Urges FG To Fund Port Project
The Senate yesterday urged the Federal Government to make funds available to contractors handling Baro River Port project for final completion of the project.
The call followed the adoption of a motion at plenary on urgent need to complete all the necessary components of Baro River Port Project of Lower River Niger.
The motion was sponsored by Sen.Bima Enagi (APC-Niger) and co-sponsored by 22 other senators.
Moving the motion at plenary, Enagi said the Federal Government had awarded contract for dredging of the Lower River Niger, construction of Baro Port and installation of cargo equipment.
He said the project was designed to ensure access road for movement of goods and services to Northern part of the country for improvement in socio-economic activities in the north.
He said Baro port project was expected to generate 3,000 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs.
He added that the project on completion would improve the road network by keeping heavy duty trailers and trucks off the roads.
This, he said would help expand the life span of the roads.
Enagi said the Baro Port and cargo handling equipment components of the project had been completed and commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 19.
He, however, said the Lambata -Bida road awarded in 2015 and the Agaie-Katcha-Baro road awarded in 2018, if completed, would facilitate movement of goods from the port to the northern part of the country.
The lawmaker maintained that the Lambata -Bida road had only recorded 20 per cent completion while the Agaie-Katcha-Baro road recorded only per cent progress.
He said funding of the access roads had been grossly inadequate as N670 million and N4.5 billion so far had been released for the project out of the N17 billion and N33 billion appropriated.
Enagi said that over N40 billion had been expended on the various components of the Baro port project without achieving any significant progress towards utilisation of the port.
Also contributing, Sen. Adamu Alero, (APC Kebbi), who seconded the motion said there was the need to also complete construction of second Niger Bridge.
He said heavy vehicles conveying goods for haulage were contributing in destroying the roads in the country.
Alero said the completion of the Baro port would have significant improvement on the economy.
Sen. Ali Ndume, (APC-Boronu) urged President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan to personally meet with the executive to provide funding for completion of the project.
He said the senate could use the opportunity of working on the budget at the moment to appropriate fund for the project.
Senate in its resolution also resolved to urge the Federal Government to facilitate rehabilitation of the narrow gauge railway in Baro to ensure rapid socio -economic growth of Nigeria.
It also urged for continuous dredging and maintenance of National Inland Water Ways (NIWA) of the River and Benue Niger to ensure navigability.
The Senate also mandated its Committees on Marine Transport and Works to investigate activities on the Baro Port and make recommendations to facilitate its completion.
Earlier, the Senate at plenary also received and adopted an Ad-hoc Committee on investigation of the causes of pipeline explosions in Komkom, Rivers and Ijeguu in Lagos state.
The report was presented by Sen. Gobir Ibrahim (APC-Sokoto).
The senate having adopted the 16 point recommendations of the report, urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to identify those responsible for the pipeline explosion for appropriate sanction.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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